Painful Regrets
by Lily MJ Fae
Summary: Regulus has figured out Voldemort's plan and has decided to betray him in the worst possibly way. The emerald potion is a cruel mistress though and Regulus has one thing he's always regretted.
_**A/N:**_ _It's time again! Quidditch League has started up and round one has already begun. This year I am still a part of_ _ **The Ballycastle Bats**_ _but I am no longer keeper. I have upgraded to the wonderfully, semi-stressful, lovely role of_ _ **Captain**_ _. Our first prompt is DEATH EATERS. Except we can't write any of the fun stuff. Love you guys! This one is not my submission, however I still used the prompt._

 _ **Prompts:**_

 _Quidditch league: Write your chosen Death eater with their friends._

 _Quidditch Pitch: Regulus Black_

 _Drabble Club: "I'm tired of always looking over my shoulder."_

 _Enjoy_

Regulus Black and Kreacher stood at the basin the middle of the cave. Thank goodness for elf magic being able to override so much. Now they stood staring at the emerald potion, its phosphorescent glow lighting up the area. It was the only thing between him and his suspicion about what _He_ was doing to stay alive. Everything with _Him_ had gotten out of hand. Sirius had been right all along.

He looked at Kreacher, unable to imagine the pain he must have suffered, drinking the potion. It had been the last straw. In the time since Sirius had left, Kreacher became Regulus' only companion at home since he had begun avoiding his parents. He knew they'd never be okay with the fact that he had been questioning everything he had ever been taught. Now his mission was to help destroy the Horcruxes.

"Master, shall I begin drinking?" Kreacher asked, looking at the basin with eyes full of pure terror.

"No!" Regulus was shocked by his own voice as it echoed off the cave walls. "No, Kreacher. You will never drink this potion again, so long as I live. I'm going to drink it."

"Master, it is painful. It will hurt."

"I know. But you are going to make me drink all of it," and then we will go from there."

Before Kreacher could protest further, Regulus grabbed the ladle and took his first drink of the Emerald Potion.

 _"Hi." The small, but familiar voice came from behind Regulus. It was the boy that had been talking to him in line. "I'm Noah by the way. Noah Campbell."_

 _"I'm Regulus Black."_

 _'He's so clearly a muggle, how is he in Slytherin?' Regulus thought._

 _"Are you excited? For school I mean?"_

 _"I guess."_

 _"I never knew this place existed. My mother was a witch apparently, but she died when I was little. She never had a chance to tell my dad that she was a witch."_

 _"So you're a half-blood?"_

 _"Does it matter?" the boy asked, almost quizzically._

 _"We'll, yeah. Pureblood families are the best. We're the only ones with pure magic blood. Yours is tainted by a muggle."_

 _"So what? I still have magic, and I bet I'm better than many supposed purebloods."_

 _Regulus was insulted. How dare this mere half-breed say he was superior, clearly he need to be taught a lesson., "Okay, Campbell. Prove it. We'll see who does better in school."_

 _"Fine, Black. It's on."_

 _They shook hands on it and turned to the feast that had started some point during their discussion and began devouring all the food that they could._

Regulus grimaced, he felt a burning pain in his gut and his throat felt coated by the potion. But he was determined still to finish his task. He took the ladle and helped himself to another drink of potion.

 _Regulus sat at the table next to the Lestrange brothers and his cousins, Narcissa and Bellatrix. They were studying. The exam in potions was in two days, and only Regulus was fully prepared. Although, a few of his study mates were older than him, he was able to quickly understand what they were doing and help them understand it themselves._

 _"Black!"_

 _He knew the voice immediately and turned around, coming face to face with his competition._

 _"What do you want, Campbell? I'm busy studying."_

 _"What did you get on the Charms exam yesterday," he asked with a smug grin._

 _"Oh that? I got Outstanding and all of the bonus points."_

 _"Well, I got Outstanding and two bonus—-" he stopped himself, realizing fully what Regulus had said. The damned boy had beat him again._

 _"That's how many exams this semester, Campbell? All of them?"_

 _The boy's face turned red, and he stormed off, leaving the great hall. Regulus felt bad and ran after him._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude about it."_

 _Noah turned around and glared at Regulus, "Then why were you? You aren't my only friend you know. I have other friends. Halfblood, Pureblood, even Muggleborn, and all from different houses. I don't need you in my life. This was supposed to be a friendly competition. And it's how we became friends by the end of first year. But you've been spending more time with Rodolphus and Rabastan, and you're becoming meaner._ _I'm tired of always looking over my shoulder. I'm tired of never knowing whether you'll be nice or rude._ _"_

 _"I have to. Two of those people at the table are my cousins, one of them will be. I've managed to not clue them into our friendship, and I've been keeping it that way. I told you, I come from a pureblood family. Sure, purebloods_ can _be friends with a Halfblood, but my family frowns upon it. They think we should only socialize with lesser status witches and wizards when necessary."_

 _"Then why do you hang around Snape? He's a Halfblood."_

 _"But he rejects his muggle father and is actually looking at becoming a death eater. You do neither. Not to mention, he's talented unlike so many others."_

 _"Stop making excuses. You're just like them, and you know it."_

Regulus had no idea how many ladles he had already drunk, but it seemed like there was an endless amount left. At this point, Kreacher held the ladle and was feeding the potion to him. His insides burned and his throat was dry, despite the incredible amount of liquid he was drinking.

"Do not stop, Kreacher. That is an order," he managed to croak out.

The elf nodded sadly. "Yes, Master Regulus."

Another ladle sent a burning sensation along his throat.

 _Regulus listened to the cheers of his fellow Slytherins in the stands as he stood with his team and friends. Rabastan and his brother were talking with Severus, who had come in, demanding to speak with the brothers._

 _"First game of the year, you nervous?" Dolohov asked, making Regulus jump out of his mind wanderings._

 _"Huh? Oh, not really."_

 _"Could have fooled me," he teased, punching Regulus in the arm gently. "So what do you think Snape has to say?"_

 _"I don't know. But it seems serious."_

 _Dolohov and Regulus watched the exchange until it finished, with only a few minutes till the game began._

 _"What did Snape want?" Dolohov beat Regulus to the question._

 _"He ran into someone over break. Learned something very interesting about Campbell."_

 _"He ran into Campbell over break? In the Muggle world? Why is this surprising?" Regulus asked, trying to hide his concern over whatever else it could be._

 _"He was with his parents. Yes, father and_ mother _. Severus called him out, and he started blubbering. He's a Mudblood. His parents are both muggles. He's been lying about his status the moment he got here. He begged Snape not to tell, but I guess he didn't realize just how loyal Snape is to his friends."_

 _At that moment, Slughorn burst into the locker room., "The game is starting, time to head out boys!"_

" _You were a bit off your game today, Black." Campbell's voice rang out, lighting the rage in Regulus once more._

" _Don't talk to me, Campbell."_

" _Why not? What did I do?"_

" _You're a filthy liar, and you know it."_

 _A hand grabbed Regulus' shoulder, and pulled hard, forcing him to turn._

" _What the bloody Hell are you talking about?"_

" _I know all about your sSummer run in with Snape! He told the Lestranges who told me."_

 _Noah's face fell. He looked at Regulus with guilt and shame._

" _I thought we were friends!" Regulus screamed, "But apparently not. You sit there, acting like I'm wrong for judging Mudbloods, like they're all perfectly fine, yet you've been lying to me, to everyone, for years."_

" _I couldn't tell you. If I had—-"_

" _We were friends! Even if you lied to me at first, YOU should have been the one to tell me. Instead, I hear from a THIRD source."_

" _Would you really have been okay with me telling you that I am a Muggleborn?"_

 _Regulus paused, his anger stopping for a moment, just to think. Would he have been okay with it?_

" _It doesn't matter now, because you didn't give me a chance to figure it out for myself. You really are nothing more than a filthy Mudblood. And we are no longer friends. At least Snape, Dolohov, and the Lestranges treat me like a real friend should. They knew about our friendship, they help me, I help them. We're honest with each other. You are no real friend of mine."_

"Master Regulus?" Kreacher asked again after a moment of silence.

Regulus looked at the elf, who appeared terrified, and gave a weak smile.

"Master Regulus, the potion is gone. All that's there is the locket."

Regulus nodded and used the basin to pull himself into a standing position. He grabbed the locket that lay in the bottom and reached into his pocket for its replacement. The locket fell to the bottom of the basin with a clink, and immediately, the basin filled with potion.

' _I_ _t must be charmed somehow,_ Regulus mused to himself.

He turned to Kreacher again, who managed to look frightened and sad for an elf with such harsh features.

"Kreacher," Regulus spoke, but his words were barely audible. The potion had done a number on him, between the burning pain in his body and the dry throat, speaking was almost impossible. "You are to take this locket and destroy it. You cannot tell anyone about it, and I cannot tell you why. But you must do everything in your power to do this."

The elf accepted the locket and looked back up at Regulus, "Won't you be returning home, Master Regulus?"

Regulus didn't answer the question. "I also need you to deliver this letter. Give it to no one other than Noah Campbell. Don't even trust an owl."

Kreacher took the envelope from Regulus and nodded.

The burning in his throat was no longer willing to be ignored and flared up. He needed to drink something. He needed water.

"Kreacher, I'm sorry I let Him use you. I am sorry that I followed Hhim blindly. You are my only friend anymore. I should have never let Him use you without first knowing why. I should have never let Him use you in the first place," Regulus croaked as he sat down and began crawling towards the water, his body too weak to do anything else.

"Master Regulus, I lives to serve you and the Family Black."

"You are still a friend. You are not just property."

Regulus had reached the edge of the formation they stood on and learned over for the water, scooping his hand in to get a drink. The cold water was refreshing and eased the burning of his throat. But the surface of the water became disturbed. A hand broke the surface and reached for Regulus.

 _Inferi!_

"Kreacher, do as I told you! Destroy the locket and deliver that letter! Go NOW!"

Kreacher looked helplessly as more arms broke the surface and grabbed Regulus, pulling him towards the water, intent on getting him to their watery grave.

"KREACHER! GO! NOW! THAT IS AN ORDER!"

The Inferi pulled Regulus off the platform, and he disappeared beneath the water's surface. The remaining ones sensed another life, a life that they had to claim and began reaching for Kracher as well. Tears fell down his cheeks., "Yes, Master Regulus." And with a pop, he was gone.

 _Noah,_

 _This letter is long overdue. You were once my friend. And I wish that you still were. But you were right, I probably wouldn't have been able to handle finding out that you were Muggleborn, whether or not it came from you._

 _I deeply regret the way I treated you over the years. It was unacceptable. A true friend would never have done that to you. I should have just been brave enough to be your friend and face the consequences. I guess that's why Sirius was in Gryffindor and I wasn't. I wasn't brave enough._

 _I am being brave now. I cannot tell you or anyone what I have done or discovered. But know that I no longer stand with Lord Voldemort. The fact of the matter is that as you read this, I am probably dead._

 _I know that I could not possibly ever deserve your forgiveness or make up for the years lost to my own ignorance. But a dear friend of mine was recently put in harm's way because of my own blind following. I have learned my lesson._

 _I wish you a long and happy life. I hope that you and your family are safe. Though I will never know._

 _Your old friend,_

 _Regulus Black._


End file.
